AMSHINOV- no quarter asked,no quarter given

Think of me as perpetual Shil'shel Peh

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Stick To What You Know

.I've been too busy to answer the posek (poskenyak is more like it) at dovbear.Not that I practice this tradition but in defense of those who do:The Rama (o’h585) states that there are those who visit graves to pray, on erev rosh hasana .The Mishna Brura (127) adds that we should not pray to the dead, rather only ask for Hashem to listen to our prayers, in the merit of the dead.The Mishna Brura is disagreeing with The Pri Megadem Ashel Avraham (116), and the Mahram Schick (o’h end of #10,293) and the Shu’t Minchas Elazer (1, 68) who feels it is a mitzvah.In fact we find the Gemara telling of Yosef’s prayer to his dead mother (Tannis 16a),also see sota34b.The Minchas Yitchok (8,53) says that we should write prayers to the dead. Perhaps you would like to see the Eh’lef Hamagen (113) who claims that the dead will help you because they are conscious of our problems. You don’t like that last line, ok then see the Gemara in Brachos (18b) and Tannis (23b) about the Tanna who begs his dead father to help and dad kicks in.

And so I say DovDov stick to what you know!(OH' AND A GEMAR TOV TO YOU AND YOURS)-amshinover:if you have nothing nice to say, say it here

Deu 29:22 the last generation will say of your children that shall rise up after you, and the gentile that shall come from a far land(saying), when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it.Deu 29:23 [that] the whole land thereof [is] brimstone, and salt, [and] burning, [that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein...

Mark Twain,visited Israel in 1867, described it as:

“ ...[a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given overwholly to weeds-a silent mournful expanse....A desolation is here that not evenimagination can grace with the pomp of life and action....We never saw a humanbeing on the whole route....There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Eventhe olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almostdeserted the country.”

"The road leading from Gaza to the north was only a summer track suitable for transport by camels and carts ... no orange groves, orchards or vineyards were to be seen until one reached Yabna village.... The ploughs used were of wood.... The yields were very poor........ The western part, towards the sea, was almost a desert.... The villages in this area were few and thinly populated.."

Lewis French, Director of Development for the British Government, in 1931:

"We found it inhabited largely by fellahin who lived in mud hovels and suffered severely from the prevalent malaria.... Large areas ... were uncultivated.... There was little public security, and the fellahin's lot was an alternation of pillage and blackmail by their neighbors, the Bedouin."

Thursday, September 29, 2005

now a word from our sponsors

Ani Ldodi Vdodi Li

The average yeshiva student doesn't ask questions of a rebbe wearing wings and holding a wand, but the self-proclaimed "fairies" at SVARA (A queer yeshiva dedicated to the serious study of Talmud) aren't meant to be your average rebbes, and the students are there specifically because they don't think they fit in at other yeshivas.

SVARA -- -a yeshiva for gays and lesbians currently on a cross-country road trip for the month of Elul -- is led by Rabbi Benay Lappe… she said, "I had to be in the closet because then as now JTS did not accept openly queer people." The wings and wand are worn during workshop sessions as an expression of gay and lesbian identity….

While gay Jewish groups have proliferated in recent years, SVARA is believed to be the only one promoting Jewish learning…

"I think that we're in a time when we really need to reconsider what we consider an 'aveirah,' " or sin, he said, "and there are many perspectives from which we need to do that. The queer perspective is only one of them."…

"The presentation of the text is really no different -- what's different is what happens in shiur, when the students begin to integrate the text themselves," Lappe said. "SVARA recognizes queer Jews as absolutely essential."

Stupid Is What Stupid Does

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In his article “A prophecy fulfilled” Cal Thomas sharply laments the one sided peace treaty and frets over the idea that thing can only get worse under the current arrangement. He refers to the recent storm of rockets from the now unoccupied territories. It is a very worthwhile read

( Look at the bottom - I took some excerpts out for the challenged)

While something must be done to alleviate the stress in the area, unilateral moves by Israel is not only unjust it is countrerproductive. What then must be done? I don’t know.

However, saying that something must be done and employing irresponsible strategies that have only proven itself dangerous is not the solution.

Israel should not proceed at all until the other side declares what they want for this peace road map to take affect. This is called Basic Treaty Making 101. I will do this in exchange for that - pro quid pro. Sadly, the other side has been declaring what they want – I say sadly not because this has been their mantra but because we, the world, have been ignoring it.

The price Jews have to pay for this experiment is obsene. I refer not to the "Israeli conquests" but rather to Jewish blood. The murders will only end when one of two things happen. Either the other side promises that it will cease all terrorist activities pursuant to a treaty or one side forfeits. To persist in this fashion is suicide.

Suicide is stupid.

Stupid is what stupid does.

Some Excerpts:

Having given so much and received nothing in return, it may now be too late to save Israel, but giving more without getting anything ensures Israel's extinction sooner . It took just 12 days from completion of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza before rockets started raining down on the Western Negev area from the now-unoccupied territory. The attacks late Friday might have occurred sooner had the terrorists not been preoccupied with torching synagogues and destroying flower-growing operations in Gaza that could have been used to produce income for Palestinian residents. Sadly, their hatred of all things Jewish prompted them to act against their self-interest....

The "Quartet" of the U.N., the United States [State Department], Russia and the European Union hassucceeded only in pressuring Israel to give and give and give. Whatever pressure it has applied to the Palestinian-Hamas-Fatah side has produced no cessation of violence, no disarmament and, in fact, no concessions at all....

The frustrating part is that no one pays attention to the pronouncements of the terrorists. Hamas announced it would flood Gaza with its soldiers once Israel withdrew. Islamo-fascist clerics call for the annihilation of Israel and tell jihadists it is their religious duty to kill Jews and Christians.....

Meanwhile, the Bush Administration and its State Department sink deeper into denial and pretend the terrorists don't mean what they say. The terrorists trumpet their plans and then carry them out. After they have caused death and destruction, they promise to do it again. Objectives can't be made clearer than that

-SHRAGIE: If you have nothing nice to say you are either filthy rich or happily dirt poor.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

things that make you go hmmmm part1

Paul Bookson, the lawyer representing Moses Teitelbaum, the grand rebbe of Satmer was killed by a off-duty cop who crashed her motorcycle into the retired judge as he crossed a downtown Brooklyn street yesterday, fatally injuring him.

Bookson, a former state senator now working for the Herzfeld & Rubin law firm, suffered head trauma and two broken legs in the accident. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital late last night.

A funeral will be held today at the Eldridge St. Synagogue on the lower East Side, where Bookson was president of the congregation

coming sukos to a theater near you

Krazy Kommies

.Moscow’s chief rabbi, Swiss-national Pinkhas Goldschmidt, says Russian border guards denied him reentry to the country on 26 September when he returned from a trip to Israel. He says the border guards told him that his Russian visa had been annulled, but gave no further explanation. He then had to fly back to Israel. Jewish religious leaders both in Russia and abroad have expressed deep concern over the incident and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately let Goldschmidt return to Russia.

Unlikely War Supporter

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There are 2 clear war camps one pro war the other anti war. The anti war camp has always had less than favorable characters as their faces (Sean Penn and the like). Even the most dignified opponents can be construed as political. These challengers have mustered their main support from the fringe because the representatives have been - well -quirky.

This is all about to change. Special kudos to the President and his publicist and the conservatives in the media. Ms. Sheehan, the woman who lost her son in Iraq and has been demanding that the President re-meet with her in hopes to halt the war and has been recently incarcerated for rabble rousing in front of the White house. The pro war folks are actually vilifying her. The President has all but ignored her and the conservative media has had a heartless field day with her, painting her as a deranged psycho.

President Bush and the media have created a martyr for the anti Iraq war cause. She is not a menacing aloof actor nor is she an opportunist senator seeking higher office. She is a real human being who has undergone real life misery. Her misery is the result of her colossal sacrifice for the United States. The character assasination of Ms. Sheehan will only work against the war efforts. The demonizing of Ms. Sheehan will backfire. Personally, I am ambiguous about the war. However, I am sure that a woman who is an American hero has a lot more validity than many would like us to think.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Strange Bedfellows

Christian fascination with the idea of Israel “premillennial dispensationalism”, can be found in Apocalypsis Apocalypseos, written by Anglican clergyman Thomas Brightman in 1585.1621, a member of the British Parliament, Henry Finch, wrote: “ (Jews) shall repair to their own country, shall inherit all of the land as before, shall live in safety, and shall continue in it forever.” Louis Way, an Anglican clergyman taught that the Jews return to Palestine is the first stage to the Messiah.In the 1880s, William Hechler, saw Herzl as ordained by God to fulfill the prophetic scriptures.Then-British Prime Minister David Lloyd-George and Balfour had religious interest in Zionism.

Self-proclaimed Christian Zionist organizations such as the International Christian Embassy-Jerusalem and the US-based Bridges for Peace have been operating for years.Christian Zionists work with the Israeli government,Zionist organizations, and are particularly empowered during periods when Likud is in control.

Christian Zionists wait for a series of wars pointing to the return of Jesus. The establishment of Israel,building of the Temple,rise of the Antichrist and the buildup of armies to attack Israel.As an apocalyptic theology, they look for the escalation of power aligned to the Antichrist, who, will do battle with Israel.

Christian Zionism is a growing political force with branches of Protestant, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Lutheran and other churches. It thrives during periods of political and economic unrest in the Middle East.Some estimate that 20-25 million American hold these views. This included US Attorney General John Ashcroft, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon, Southern Baptist Convention leader Richard Land,and Tom Lantos.